Shop local and SAVE BIG!

If you haven't heard yet, buying fresh fruits and vegetables locally is the in thing to do. You have probably been told  at least once you should be buying locally grown produce. Chances are, you probably have even been seeing local farmers markets (like the one in the picture below) sprouting up around your neighborhood! But why should you buy local? What's the benefit to you, your community, and the environment? For starters, here are a few reasons to dump the big-name grocery stores, and stick to your local farmers markets:

1. Local food is cheaper.
   According to How Stuff Works, buying local can save you money with fewer hands that are involved. Unlike chain supermarkets, the farmer doesn't have to split up the profits between the packer, the transporter, and the store employees. The savings goes right back into the consumers pocket.

Today, I hopped on the long-board and took a quick ride up to the local farmers market, and picked up all these fruits and vegetables for a whopping $10.61! Not only did I save on a good deal, but look at the vibrant colors on the tomato, bell pepper, and mango- that's when you know they're going to be deliciously full of nutrients.

2. Locally grown food tastes better and is more nutritious.
    Once harvested, produce quickly loses nutrients. Produce that is flash-frozen just after harvest is often more nutritious than "fresh" produce that's on the supermarket shelf for a week. Since local produce is sold right after it's picked, it retains more nutrients. When local produce is picked in the last couple of days, it makes for crisp and flavorful fruits and veggies. Produce that travels long distances are days older, which allows the sugars to turn to starches, plant cells to shrink, and produce loses it's vitality and flavor.

3. Buying local boosts the economy.

    Buying local is more than just a feel-good notion. Many communities around the nation and the world are increasingly dependent upon consumers buying local. When that happens, "those purchases are twice as efficient in terms of keeping the local economy alive," according to an interview with David Boyle, author and researcher for NEF (New Economics Foundation) in an article in Times magazine.It's no wonder why farming is becoming a vanishing occupation- it can't be easy making a living which requires so much overhead cost when you're getting less than 10 cents to every retail food dollar. By buying locally, the middleman disappears and the farmer gets full retail price, in turn helping farmers to continue farming.